Living here in Cullenstown

 

Anyone got the Billy Joel melody now swirling in their mind?  No, well, he didn't start the fire you know. How about now? All wistful and random today, perhaps a bit over tired, but the melodies of Clannad evoking chilled reflections after plenty of energy used in the daylight hours.

Started with a run for some early morning fresh air, establish a simple loop and locate the nearest beach, all whilst the rest of the crew were dreaming their little dreams.

Glorious sunshine mean an al fresco breakfast and more of those delicious scones from yesterday given the full attention they deserved.  Chance to catch up on social media, and read some more of the psychology of time travel, a dimension to this whole travel lark that will not feature.

Chrissi and I then did a few miles trek on the Cullenstown shoreline, couldn't quite get my head around the coastal path (have added to our links) as I think it cuts inland so we simply walked amongst the shells, rocks and seaweed for as long as we could.  Some very beautiful and remote coastline, very few tourists but unspoilt coastline being lapped at by the Irish Sea I believe.  Suddenly had a flashback to a mini series called The Beachcombers at this point, does anyone remember that? Seem to remember the lead actor was a cross between Bobby Ball and Matthew Cames Dad. (only a couple may get the second reference)  We also had a little concern about snakes in the long grass when we did take the odd look inland, until I remembered later in the day there are no snakes in Ireland.  Also a house made of shells, am starting to think faerie tales are real out here.

Carys had taken some time to do some work whilst we did our first exploration, and we took some time on return to the cottage for her to finish off what she was doing, whilst we enjoyed some nice coffee, a tidy little coffee maker as part of the set up, so not missing our asks of Bryn after one of his long shifts at Costa.

The afternoon we had determined to visit Kilmore Quay, a busy little fishing village that had come recommended and we could see in the distance from our morning walk.  Took a little drive through the narrow country lanes, but good parking and all very compact to have a look around.

Quite taken by a memorial 'garden' to the many thousands of Irish lost at sea over the years and took some time to take all that in.  We then cast our own views and thoughts to the horizon, firstly picking out the 2 Saltee Islands that sit off the coast in this part of the world. An ecologists treasure chest I am led to believe, but would have taken a level of organisation that perhaps wasn't included in this trip to book onone of the 4 hour trips that are availalbe to land on these little private havens.

Instead we took in the marina and did our own circular walk of the town, a thatchers dream, the cottages out here, and I'm not talking cider.

We determined to eat late afternoon today, everyone a little tired, and actually quite looking forward to a Summers evening with a cider or 2 and a good book in the tranquility of Cullentsown.  A recomnmendation by both our hosts and the Lonley Planet was Mary Barrys seafood restaurant

The surrounds were most pleasant and the service great, as befitted the pricing in the menu. The food was also of really good quality, I had a Malaysian Satay Chicken Starter which was all very tender and peanuty. Main course had to be sea food but with an eastern taint, prawn and monkfish yellow curry - the monkfish very meaty, the prawns very light, an excellent combination.  The cost however, in my opinion, a little more than perhaps it should have been, but hey, I am a bit of a tight old bugger.

And with a couple of very busy days ahead it was time to just take an early evening pause in the running from place to place with clear blue skies, a great view, and the sound of countryside silence to chill out to.  Although am thinking maybe a bit of Clannad to add to the mellow feel, lets return to Billy Joel to end.

- Carys -

A nice lie in to give us a bit rest this morning, followed by jam toast which, as boring as it sounds, I usually don't have at home so added to the feeling of 'newness' about being on holiday. Though a bit disappointing I decided it best to stay home and get on with some Physcis which I truly an not a fan of, instead of explore the nearby beach that is visible from our cottage. I am hoping to go another day as I now feel left out despite it being on my own terms. Anyway, I was somewhat productive so felt some relief, and seemed to learn quite a bit in preparation for my exam on Wednesday. 

Got ready to head out then, and drove to the harbour, which I thought was really beautiful. I thought the air held a pungent whiff of fish, but maybe that catches my senses off guard as a vegetarian. That's probably quite a dramatic way to describe it. Anyway, once I'd gotten used to the scent, I could better appreicate the refreshing feel of salty sea air. It feels like a lifetime since I'd been to a beach so I very much enjoyed the experience, and made the most of it. We took a stroll along the front, visited a memorial site shaped like a boat, and observed the marina where many varyingly shaped, sized and coloured boats were docked.

 We couldn't continue though without a quick stop in 'Lick'd' the ice cream parlour acrosd the road, where mum and I endulged in a Mr Whippy each - our first this year, so we were very excited.

 We went for a loop around the village, which was lovely - with thatched roofs and small pastel doors. They were the type of houses I'd love to live in one day, expecially the ones that overlooked the sea. 

We encountered a few dogs, who we questioned whether they had owners for a little while, but after they continued to just walk around freely, with no one following them, we decided they were locals to the beach, on their evening stroll.  Although it was too early for dinner, we'd skipped lunch (except for the Mr Whippy), we visited the Mary Barry pub for food. I avoided the counbtless options of fish meals, and chose for my starter, breaded brie, which was just amazing as expected, and for my main, vegetable curry and chips. The chips were especially great because they were exacly like fish and chip shop chips, with salt and vinegar and all. I decided against dessert but wasn't too upset as I was very full from my lovely meal. 

After we'd appreciated all we could in the village, we came back to the house and spent the evening in quite a relaxing way. A bit more revision, some snacks, and now off to bed for  before an early start tomorrow.